Insertion Part 7: Who Is Captain Destructo? by Sean D'Anna ===== Ranma stood over Kuno's fallen form with a smirk on his face. "You got it today?" "I have not forgotten your ill gotten payment," snorted the boy on the ground. He reached into his robes, and pulled out a wad of money. Ranma took it cheerfully and stuffed it into his own pocket. "Well, here you go, the only copy of yesterday's humiliating defeat. Today's defeat will be on sale tomorrow, for the low price of only ten thousand yen!" He handed Kuno a videotape and walked off calmly. Nabiki watched the scene silently from a few yards away. She had a small frown on her face as he conducted his business and left the boy sitting on the ground. "This is cutting into my own business," she snorted angrily. "I've got to do something about this." Ranma went on obliviously about his day, not caring or seeming to notice any of the angry looks the male student body was giving him. He heard the hateful whispers behind his back of course, and knew that they were all too cowardly and weak to hurt him. It was starting to bug him though. And thus, things went as such for several days. +++++++++++ "Ranma, do you want to make out?" Ranma blinked and looked up from the manga he had been reading in mild surprise. He turned his head and saw Nabiki sitting beside him. She was staring at the television with a bored expression on her face. "Wha?" said the boy dumbly. "Everyone's gone, and I'm bored," said Nabiki casually. "Okay," said the boy with a shrug. "But what's the catch?" "What? I'm just bored," said Nabiki as she turned towards him and shrugged her shoulders. "There's always a catch," said Ranma as he glared at her in angry disbelief for a moment. "Especially with you." "Look, I don't want to marry you, and it's obvious that you've already seen me naked. You took those pictures of me in the bath. So why not? I'm just bored." Ranma blinked again and stood up. "Sure, whatever." Nabiki pulled him down next to her, and wrapped her arms around his neck. ++++++++++++ An hour later... Ranma Saotome, sat on the back porch of the Tendo home once again. He was looking rather indifferent, and scratching the inside of his ear with his pinky lazily. Inside his head was quite active though. "Man, I haven't done that in years," said Dan cheerfully. "..." said Ranma. "Yeah, sure brings back memories," agreed Carrot. "..." said Ranma. "I wonder what she's up to though?" ventured Carrot lazily as he lay them back against the floor. "..." said Ranma. "I dunno, gotta be somethin," said Dan with a sagely looking nod. "She probably got pictures or something." "..." said Ranma. "Hmmm, could be, that would be dangerous for her though," said Carrot calmly. "It's got to be something else." "..." said Ranma. "Well, we'll figure it out soon enough," said Dan with a small sigh. "..." said Ranma. ++++++++++ Meanwhile, Nabiki Tendo sat on her bed. A small smirk on her lips as she looked at the roll of film in her palm for a moment. It had definitely been more fun than she had anticipated. Not just because she'd finally gotten her claws into him, but also because the boy had experience. It was painfully obvious he knew what he was doing. It gave her a warm and fuzzy sensation just thinking about what he'd done to her, just with his hands. She idly rubbed the dark mark that was now present on her shoulder as she thought about it more and more. The boy was almost too experienced, it didn't sit well with her. It was more than being familiar with a female body, like say his curse would do to him. He knew exactly what he was doing, she was expecting to have to coax him a bit, move him around and such. Instead, she found herself sitting back and enjoying the ride. She pulled the film up in front of her face for a moment too look at it and frowned deeply. "Who are you?" +++++++++++++ "Boy! We've got to talk," said Genma as he sat across from his son at the table. "Huh? Oh, hey pop," said Ranma as he turned to look at his father. "I need to speak with my son, not you," said Genma coldly as he noticed the gleam in the boy's eye. "Ranma's kind of out of it right now. He hasn't talked in like two hours," said the boy calmly with a shrug. "We haven't been able to snap him out of it yet." "Why?" said Genma. "That's none of your business, its private guy stuff," said the boy with a smirk. "This is serious," snorted Genma as he glared at the boy. "Genma, do you really think we're stupid enough to get Ranma killed?" said the boy calmly as he eyed the man with a harsh looking smile. "I'm not sure," said the man honestly. "Point taken," admitted the boy with a small nod. "However, I assure you that you and your son are quite safe from Nodoka. She thinks the curse is a separate entity. I suggest you keep up this illusion, a new personality of your own perhaps?" "What?" said Genma as his eyes went wide. He wasn't sure what to say. "We lied to your wife. She thinks that Ranma's girl side is someone he saved from a cursed spring. Quite a manly act to suffer for her sake," said the boy with an odd looking smirk. "She's still quite angry with you, seeing as how you ducked away from her out of fear of the seppuku pledge. That'll pass with time." "Why are you telling me this?" asked Genma as he narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Because Nodoka is coming here tomorrow, and I think you've sweat enough for now," said the boy with a small chuckle. "About that Kuonji girl," said Genma. "You don't have the right or the authority to engage all three of us to anyone," said Carrot firmly. "We'll decide who we marry, without your help." "Boy! I'm..." "You're not my father, you're Ranma's father. I am not Ranma Saotome, to put it bluntly, he's been outvoted. We're a collective group, Genma, we have our own way of doing things. Most of us don't care about your family's honor, or your stupid customs." "What? Boy! You should learn to respect your elders!" snapped Genma as he stood up and slammed his palms on the table. He leaned in, glaring the boy directly in his eyes. He simply returned the stare calmly, not intimidated in the least by the overweight man glaring at him. "You're only older than I am by about ten years old man." Genma sat down, staring at the man dumbly. "What?" "One of us is twenty-two, and the other twenty-eight. We don't like you Genma, but you're convenient for the moment. The instant I think you're a danger to us, I'll get rid of you without a second thought. Ranma is the only thing keeping us from eliminating you." "Eliminating?" said Genma with a frown. "Boy, you need to learn your own limits!" He puffed out his chest as he said this, daring the boy to take him on. "You need to learn to extend your memory a bit," said the boy coldly. Genma Saotome froze as a familiar click sounded from underneath the table. He looked down and saw Ranma still sitting calmly, with both hands under the table. "What?" "Calm down and behave yourself. Ranma still cares about you, and I don't want to upset him," said the boy with a small chuckle. Genma did so, but continued to glare angrily at the boy across from him. "Good boy," said the boy calmly. Genma relaxed somewhat as the familiar click sounded again, and his son's body put both hands back on the table. "What are you up to demon?" snarled Genma coldly. "Me? Nothing much, I just wanted to let you know where we stood. You can continue on your way, blissfully trying to snare your son in Akane Tendo's subtle web of feminine wiles if you like. But we aren't marrying her, we don't like her much I'm afraid." "What's wrong with her?" snarled Genma bitterly. "She's an insanely jealous and overly violent thug, that's what." Genma growled and turned his head away. "She seems nice enough to me." "That's because we leave her alone," said Ranma with a small smirk. "Now, where were we? Oh yes, Nodoka will be here tomorrow afternoon. I suggest you stay home for it. She's been calmed down considerably, and shouldn't do anything rash. Well, not to me anyway." Genma swallowed and rubbed at his throat absently as the boy stood up and walked away. "Genma," said the boy calmly. "What do you want?" snarled the man. "We aren't marrying Kuonji either, just so you know. We've got much bigger plans." "Care to share them with me?" said the man sarcastically. "Not yet," said the boy with a chuckle as he walked up the stairs. ++++++++++++ "What just happened?" said Ranma dumbly. "You're finally awake?" said Carrot cheerfully. "Damn, it's about time," said Dan. "Auuugggh! You idiots got Nabiki pregnant!" cried Ranma in terror. Dan and Carrot burst into laughter. "What the hell is so damn funny!?" snapped Ranma bitterly. "You dolt! It takes more than a little necking and groping to get someone pregnant!" said Dan as he continued to laugh. "Ranma, he's right. Relax would you?" said Carrot. "Where the heck are we?" muttered Ranma as he looked around and noticed they were standing on the roof of a home somewhere in Nerima. They were dressed in the black coat and hat they had obtained the other day at the incident with Sailor Venus. "We thought we'd go check out that arcade. We're gonna start hanging around in places where we can get information." "Why?" snorted Ranma irritably. "I don't like no stupid games." "God, don't be such an ass Ranma. It'll be fun, and people are more likely to tell you things if they know you," said Carrot cheerfully. "We need money anyway, we're goin to a bar or two while we're at it." "What? Kuno isn't enough, and we've got to pick a street fight now?" said Ranma. "You got that right, we're gonna need to get in contact with a local Yakuza," said Dan. "What on earth for?" said Ranma as his disgust became very clear. "Ammo, and re-supply," said Dan casually. "We ain't even shot that thing yet!" snorted Ranma angrily. "We're about too, check your six," said Dan as he began to grin. Ranma turned his head and his face fell. "Oh shit." +++++++++++++ "I knew it! It is him!" said Minako as she followed close behind the dark figure jumping through the rooftops of Nerima. The boy turned his head and saw her. "Damn! I've been spotted!" "So, go after him! He can't get away!" said Artemis from the other end of the communications watch that she wore. She saw him duck into an alleyway near a large warehouse. +++++++++ Ranma jumped down and landed in the center of a dirty looking alley. Garbage lined the walls, and steam rose from a grate in the ground that led to a storm drain. He glanced around quickly and saw a door that was chained shut. It led to the inside of a large warehouse. He turned and saw Minako land just behind him. Without thinking, he rammed into the door with his shoulder and ducked away to the inside. "Got him!" cried Minako as she followed him inside. She paused and stared at her surroundings for a moment. The inside was huge, large stacks of wooden boxes rose up to two hundred feet in the air, and the whole thing was almost pitch black. "Shit." "What is it?" said Artemis in alarm. "This place is huge, dark, and spooky, that's what. Our man is wearing black too," she slowly walked into the room and glanced around nervously. She never even noticed the shadow rush by behind her, closing the door quietly. She walked around aimlessly for a moment, shuddering at the chill in the air, and the familiar squeak of the various rodents that made the building a home. Finally she came to what appeared to be the center of the building. From there, two complex mazes of boxes stretched off to the other side of the building, one on each side of her. "Hello," said a voice from above her. She almost screamed in fear as she looked up and saw him sitting on the boxes just over her head. "Calm down," he said as he watched her like a hawk from his perch. "I'm not going to attack you." "You're not?" said the girl nervously. "No. Why are you after me?" he said calmly as he looked down at her. "You're one of the enemy," she said firmly as her backbone began to grow a bit more. "Am I? Who is the enemy? What do they want?" said the boy in an amused tone. "I...don't know," admitted Minako quietly. "Really? So, you're sure I'm one of them?" said the boy cheerfully. He leaned in to stare down at her, resting his arm across his knee as he did so. Minako froze as she saw the flash of silver in his hand. The boy was carrying a gun, her eyes froze on the weapon and she stepped back, all her built up courage vanished in an instant. "If I wanted to use this, you never would have even heard the shot," said Ranma calmly. "We're going to sit her and talk, and you're going to tell me exactly why you want to kill me. I believe I deserve an explanation at the very least." "Because you are the most violent and chaotic creature on the entire planet!" said a familiar voice. "Dead Scream!" Minako stared in shock as the boxes where the boy had been standing shattered into a thousand pieces, showering the room in debris. "Don't worry about the gun, your Senshi powers will protect you from the bullets," said the woman who walked up behind Minako. She smirked at her and brushed a hand through her long green hair idly. "He doesn't stand a chance against us." "Who are you?" said Minako in shock as she stepped away from the newcomer. "I am the Senshi of Pluto," said the woman calmly. "I'm afraid you won't see much of me in the future, but this is too important for me to leave to you alone." "That's good to know, Pluto. I don't have to worry about accidentally killing you then do I?" said Ranma from the shadows just behind them. "What?" gasped Setsuna as she whirled around. Minako was thrown off her feet and landed roughly on the ground, sprawled out painfully. The Senshi of Pluto noticed a flash of light that was followed by a loud bang. "No! Venus! Are you all right?" "Ouch," muttered the blonde as she stood up slowly. She was rubbing a spot on her shoulder and looking at it in a sort of shocked wonder. "That hurt!" "Seems you weren't lying. I wonder if you could take a shot from this distance though?" Ranma melted from the shadows, directly beside Pluto as he touched her temple with the barrel of the gun. There was another in his other hand, trained on Minako. Both weapons were silver plated 45. semi automatic handguns. "Try it and find out," snarled Pluto bitterly. "I should have known you'd join Beryl to save your worthless hide Genaku." "Join Beryl? Don't be stupid," said the boy calmly. He spun the gun around in his hand and brought the butt down against her temple, sending her to the ground out cold. "No!" screamed Minako in horror as she started forward. Ranma pointed both barrels at her and stopped her cold. She stood glaring at him angrily for a moment. "She's fine, I'm not going to kill you." "Too bad!" snarled Venus as she thrust her hands forward, blasting a wave of light energy at him. Ranma ducked and rolled away, barely avoiding the blast as he vanished into the shadows once again. Minako rushed up to Pluto's side, lifting her up into her arms for a moment. "Are you all right?" The Senshi of Time woke up and fluttered her eyes for a moment. "Yes." She slowly stood up and glanced around the room cautiously. "Where is he?" "I don't know, he vanished again," said Minako nervously as she glanced around. Pluto narrowed her eyes and stared into the darkness. "We have to find him and destroy him. He's dangerous." +++++++++++ Ranma was standing with his back against a metal support beam, looking into the darkness. "Shit! What the hell did you two assholes get us into?" "Shut up! This isn't going very well, Carrot," said Dan tensely. "No shit, We've gotta get out of here," said the boy in frustration. "I can't believe Pluto is trying to kill us!" "Scratch one fiancee," said Dan morbidly as he slowed their breathing down a bit. "Right, next thing is getting out of here alive," said Carrot as he nodded in agreement. "Where's the door?" "Other side of the room," said Dan as he turned their head towards the exit. "That way." "Shit, they're standing between us and the exit," said Carrot. "We could go over them," said Ranma as he looked up at the stacks of boxes. "That'd cut down the amount of room we have to maneuver in," warned Carrot as he saw what the boy was planning. "It's our best chance to escape unnoticed though," said Dan as he put the two weapons into the holsters that hung at the small of their back. "Right, come on. Quietly," said Ranma as he stepped forward and jumped into the air. ++++++++++++++ Pluto scanned the area cautiously, with Minako at her back at the ready. "Where is he?" Venus was shaking, completely terrified. Setsuna realized that the situation they found themselves in wasn't good. Ranma shouldn't have much that could really hurt them in his arsenal though. "Relax, we're not vulnerable. The Power of your transformation will stop most life threatening injuries. A bullet won't do much to hurt us, unless it's magically charged." "Can he do that?" muttered Minako nervously. "I don't think so," lied Pluto. "That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt though, don't get shot." "Right, I remember," muttered Minako with a slightly more confident tone. Pluto froze and whirled around on her heels. "Up there! Dead Scream!" "Venus Crescent Beam!" "Shit," muttered the shadow as it turned to look down at them, just before the boxes under his feet exploded, sending him flying into the air. Ranma put his arms up and rolled as he arced towards the ground and hit the floor rolling. He stood up and rushed away as another pair of magical attacks slammed into the area where he had landed. The blast caught him and he was lifted into the air and pushed away from the center of destruction. A large hole was now present in the wall of the building, and dust filled the entire room. Ranma was growling angrily as he stood with his back against another set of boxes, just out of the senshi's line of sight. "That does it." "Come out and give up. I promise I'll make it quick," said Setsuna with a confident smirk on her face. "Come on Setsuna, you're so cute when you're angry. You may have tossed me around a bit, but I'm not hurt." "Still an Asshole," growled the Senshi of Time under her breath. ++++++++++++ Dan put a pair of shades on his face and grinned, it was not a nice smile. Carrot and Ranma both looked around in surprise as techno music began to play inside their head. "What the?" muttered Ranma nervously. "Um, Dan? What are you doing?" said Carrot with an equal amount of uncertainty. "Getting us the hell out of here," said the boy as he stepped around the corner and pulled the two weapons from behind his back again. "How many times have you seen 'The Matrix' anyway?" grumbled Carrot irritably as everything began to make sense. "I owned it," replied Dan with his smirk widening. "What the hell are you guys talkin about?" muttered Ranma in confusion. ++++++++++++ "There he is!" snarled Setsuna as she saw his figure through the cloud of dust. He was simply standing with his hands out at his sides, holding the handguns at the ready. "Right!" agreed Minako as she narrowed her eyes. Dan moved silently and quickly, charging directly for them. He raised his hands, and began to fire the guns. Both Senshi were thrown back as the bullets slammed into their chests. He continued to run by, kicking off a few boxes to sail over their heads as he moved towards the door again. "We could have just taken that hole you know," said Ranma irritably. "Not without giving them payback!" snarled Dan inside his head as they continued to run towards the door, all while firing the gun's behind them to keep the Senshi at bay. Setsuna was on her feet the instant he was over their heads. She spun around dodging a few more bullets. "Dead Scream!" she cried as she blasted another hole in the wall, barely missing Ranma as he ducked aside and was thrown into another group of boxes by the shock wave of the blast. Minako slowly picked up her head and watched as a small object fell out of the boy's hand and rolled over to several large drums that were covered by a tarp. Ranma rolled over and blinked painfully. He was glancing around in a slight daze for a moment. All the while, Setsuna was preparing another blast. "I have you!" she cried triumphantly. The boy was looking at his hand at the time rather blankly. He took off the sunglasses and stared at her in horror. Setsuna smiled, until she realized that he wasn't looking at her at all, but just behind her. "No!" screamed the woman as she turned her head and saw the red labels on the barrels, and the small grenade that rested just beside them. The next moment was nothing more than a burning pain that swallowed her up completely. Minako shrieked in terror as the wall of fire rushed up to her, she managed to stand up and started to run desperately away, explosion after explosion sounded behind her and she stumbled as the ground shook beneath her. The last thing she remembered was the wall of fire rushing up her legs. ++++++++++ Ranma was having problems of his own, he had landed near the doorway, and ran outside as the flames rushed up to him. The instant he was out the door, he rolled away as a jet of fire blasted out after him. He staggered to his feet as the flames quickly consumed the alley, jumping up to avoid the blast and rushing out into the street. He continued to run away, moving across the street as the building burned. He turned once he reached the other side and stared in horror at the destruction. The warehouse exploded, sending flaming shrapnel in every direction. The boom sent a shock wave out that shattered windows for blocks. He shielded his face and staggered back from the force, his ears ringing as the boom died down. Finally, he stepped back and dusted himself off as the building now burned silently, sending a shower of fiery debris raining down on the street. "Whoa! That was cool!" exclaimed Dan. "Let's get out of here!" said Carrot as he turned and jumped onto a nearby rooftop. "We'd best not be around when the emergency vehicles show up." The sirens were already audible in the distance. "Wow," said Ranma dumbly as he took another glance back at the burning remains of their battlefield. "Oh my god! We killed Pluto!" said Carrot as he stared with Ranma. "So much for that engagement," commented Dan. "Right," muttered Ranma, he hadn't been able to say much else thus far. He felt an overwhelming sense of dread fill him, as if something had been torn out of his heart. "What have I done?" he gasped. +++++++++++++ Inside the warehouse, a pile of debris slowly rose from the floor. Two cold blue eyes became visible as the pile of hot ash burned across her body. Tears streamed down her face, her uniform was charred and burnt to shreds. Her hair was actually burning in some places, and several cuts were visible where her skin was visible. She was covered in a thick layer of ash and shuddered for a moment as she looked around. She raised her hands into the air and screamed painfully. +++++++++++++ "What is it?" said Dr. Who as he looked at the odd contraption he had been handed. He was standing inside a cave of some kind, on what was clearly some distant planet in another dimension. "A molecular disrupter," said the small old man who stood in front of him. He was bald, and appeared to have been painted purple. He wore a long robe, made from a green sparkly fabric. "That fiend spent time on the surface of Jupiter, you won't be able to harm him with anything less." "It seems like a bit much," said the Dr. coldly as he accepted the strange contraption. It looked like an oversized blaster, and it was blowing bubbles out of a large tube that protruded from the top. "Quickly! He's coming!" said a beautiful looking female companion who cowered in terror. Dr. Who got a stern look on his face as he walked towards the tunnel that led into the room. He readied the blaster and waited. "Mr. Where!" said an odd looking mushroom man in terror. His body looked oddly like it was made out of rubber. "Who!" roared a voice from down the cavern. "Because of you! I really have seen hell!" "You're the one who was driving when we went there!" retorted the Doctor as he glared at the figure that stood opposite him now. Ryoga Hibiki glared angrily at his nemesis, a small R was now present on his forehead. He pointed his umbrella at the man and smirked. "You're no match for me Who. I grow tired of these cheesy effects, everyone here sound so ridiculous!" "Well, your accent sounds faked!" retorted the doctor bitterly. "How dare you!" snarled Mr. Where as he stalked forward, his feet left craters in the ground as he walked, crushing the rock where he passed easily. "Now!" said the purple man desperately. "You never told me how it works!" snapped Dr. Who as he fumbled with the mechanism for a moment. "Press the button on the side! It will scatter his molecules across the dimensions!" said the purple man. "Oh no!" said the mushroom man as he hid his face away. The female led swooned, and reached for Dr. Who desperately. "No! Look out!" Ryoga, who was still almost ten feet away, and moving rather sluggishly, blinked and stared at her for a moment. Unfortunately, Dr. Who found the button at that moment, and a multicolored light erupted from the barrel. "No! I won't be beaten by such a cheesy looking effect!" said Ryoga in horror as he slowly faded away. "It's over," said Dr. Who as he tossed the machine on the ground carelessly. "I've finally defeated, Mr. Where." ++++++++++++ TBC... Next Time: A familiar visitor? Hee hee. I'm evil.